1970s Horror Masterpiece Is Streaming Now, Your Eyes Will Thank You
A great horror film will rely on more than onscreen gore to give the audience scares. While well-timed jumps in sync with jolting chords from a cinematic score will give heart rates a boost and chase scenes will keep the adrenaline coursing through the veins, some will argue that true horror can be achieved with artful sets, surreal imagery, and the eeriness of a score. The 1977 film Suspiria is a combination of all of the above, making it a masterpiece of horror that you can watch on streaming for free.
A Legendary Horror Film
Suspiria is the story of American student Suzy Bannion, a young woman who recently arrived in Germany to study ballet at a private academy. During the rainstorm that greets her arrival at the Tanz Akademie, Suzy sees a woman running away from the property screaming. When Suzy rings to be let in through the intercom, she is told she cannot check into her room that night and returns to the town for lodging.
Suspiria sees the girl who fled the academy, Pat, at a friend’s apartment as the streaming rain continues throughout the night. After revealing to her friend that something is wrong with the school, Pat is stabbed repeatedly by an unknown assailant. A noose is placed around her neck, and she is thrown through the building’s skylight, the shards of glass falling and killing her friend.
School Plagued By Sinister Events
Suzy gains entry to her new school the following day and is almost immediately beset by a plague of unusual events. Maggots rain from the ceiling, the blind piano player’s dog goes berserk and rips his throat out, and one student is viciously murdered after revealing Pat’s secrets to Suzy. As Suspiria is streaming through your television, you’ll come to understand that the academy is a cover for a coven of witches that have taken up residency there, who will stop at nothing to ensure that their power remains intact.
Bright Colors Somehow Make It More Unnerving
Suspiria‘s sinister plot line is enough to make it a solid horror film for streaming. But the film is so much more than just the story arc. Director Dario Argento’s use of bright and vivid colors, his lingering shots, and his well-timed camera work elevate the film to the level of being worthy of an art piece. The constructed sets give feelings of anxiety and claustrophobia, adding a level of tension that increases the sensations of impending doom and terror.
All-Time Death Scenes
Suspiria also has the gore that many horror fans crave, with the death of Pat and her friend at the beginning of the film likely being one of the most notorious kill scenes in any streaming horror movie today. The film has copious amounts of blood and a bevy of death scenes, though without making it feel like a slasher film.
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Dario Argento’s Suspiria is highly regarded as one of the greatest streaming horror films of all time, eclipsing The Exorcist and The Omen among many of the genre’s fans. He managed to produce a film that is as beautiful as it is grotesque and as colorful as it is bleak.
You can watch Suspiria streaming for free on Kanopy.
